Windshield visor



June 13, 1950 "F. E. r-:LLrrHoRPE 2,511,401

wINnsx-IIELD vIsoR Filed July 15, '194e v.2 sheets-sheet 1 INVEINTORFRANK E. ELLlTHoRPE- ATTORNEYS,

June 13, 1950 F, E, ELLlHoRPE 2,511,401

WINDSHIELD VISOR Filed July l5, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR FRANK E.ELLITHORPE ATTORNEYS Patented June 1?,k 1950 UNITED STATES;

Nr orrics The main objects of this invention are to provide an improvedauto visor capable of'both horizontal and angu-ar adjustment relative tothe automobile-vwindshield; to provide an improved mounting means foradjustable windshield Visors orawn-ings; to provide'an improvedauto-visor constructionl capable of being adj-usted readily from the"interior of the automobile; to provide an improvedand' simplifiedarrangement for automobile visorswhereby thesame can be quick'- lyY andeasily adjusted for both extent' ofi overhang andangu-lar position withrespect to the automobilewindshield; and tov provide an improvedmounting arrangement for auto Visors wherebyv no lpart ofthe exteriorfinishv of the automobile` bodyV need be marred or otherwise damagedduring attachment or detachment of the'\'improved visor.

Specic embodiments of this invention are shown in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figure 1 is aside view of the improved visor as appliedovertheslopingwindshield of an auto-y mobile.

Fig. 2 is a sectional View, as taken' on line 24-2 of Fig. 1, showingthe improved manner of.` attaching thevisor supporting brackets to' theautomobile body.

Fig. 3 is a ViewA in side elevation, ofthe leftvhand visor supportingbracket showing the visor in section; andY the arrangement forhorizontall ad'- justment yofthe same.

Fig; Li"isamend?'view of the same. Y

Fig. 5- is a view,l i'n elevation, showing vthe reverse or--inner sideofthe brach-et shown in Figs. 3 and-2i and illustrating an arrangementfor angular adjustment of vthe visor.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional' vi'eiv-as'taken online-l S`5 of Fig.5.

Fig. 'I' is a detail' View of a pivotally connected andy adjustablevisor-supporting.' element such as maybe used support for the' visorshown in' Fig. 1.

Fig. iisairagmentary side view of the same as taken on ii'ne" Ble-8i ofFig. 7.

Fig;- 9 is a broken sectional view showing modified 'form-of the viservmounting and adjusting arrangement as taken on line 9--9 of Fig. 10.

Fig'. 1G fisla-l sideviewshowing themodie'd visor mounting meansand1i-tisdraf-:la1tion:y to "they slping wind shield; andftopof-ffanant'omcbile'. andi Fig. l1 is a1A sectional view as taken on line? H-IIof Fig. 9fshowing the visor adjusting means.

As shown in the-drawings.: the' improved auto visor comprisesY ashi'eldcr awning' I disposed transverselyA across thezupperfpart'of anautomobile windshield, so as to project outwardlyover the same, andsuitably supported. on. a. pair of end brackets or supporting members@ywhich. in turn are securedto the inside ofthe'automobilevv bodydoor-frame andv project upwardly therefrom on the outside of the bodyadjacent'theupper part'of the windshield'.

The visor or awning; may be mad'effom any suitable rigid or semi-rigidmaterial, such as aluminum, wood. or' wood'. composition', stainlesssteel, or a suitable pl'astic'compound and is prefi-v erably made in:one piece having'` downwardly' turned endsA sov as to presentasmoothunbrokezr appearance.

As shown inr Figs.. 2', 4 and 6 suitable angle members 3 are' providedat each end ofthe'visor i on the inside ofv the downwardlyI turned endst, which angle members are disposed'` with their vertical' legs adjacentand spaced inwardly a 4short distance from the said turned ends ll andare secured to the inner topY surface' of thel visor'by any suitablern'eans,1suchv as spotwefding when theV visor is made of metal'.

As shown in Figs. za'nd ljtlie downwardly projecting leg of theangleimemberf 3 provides an end-flange 3.4 for the 'visor bly means ofiwhich the visor is mounted. on the supporting `member or bracket 2.- Asshown: in Fig 3 the end-flange 3.i is provided wit-hi a pair of'longitudinal slots 5 and. 5 which are'aligned with each' other and arehorizontally-directed;v andl the iiang'e13.l is mountedlon orattachedto'the supporting bracket 2 by means of bolts l and'. 'l.l whichpass through the slots 5 and 6 and suitable apertures inthe bracket 2.

Preferably .thebolts'l and 'Ll are providedwith square Shanks adjacentthe'head portion soA that they will not turn ink the slots 5 and. 5,Vand: are positioned in' the: slots and 6v prior to the fastening of theanglemembers 3 onto the awning or visor, the heads ci the bolts 'l and'1.1 occupying the space between the flange 3.5 and: the' downwardlyturned end 4 off the visor. The bolts 1 'Li serve as pintles` or'gudge'ons on which the visor end-fiange 31| is slidable and the'rearwardbolt 'i serves asa pivot about which the end ange 3.! can turn or swingas will behereafter described. Suitable securing means, such aswing.nutsi, may be provided on the bolts 'l and 1.I for the purpose ofclamping or securing the, visor to the bracket 2 when the visor is setin the desired position.

It will be understood that two of the supporting members or brackets 2are required, one right hand and one left hand, to fit the respectivesides of the automobile to which they are to be attached. Since thesebrackets are identical in construction, except for the hand, only one ofthe brackets will be described in detail.

As before mentioned, the bolts 1 and 1.! which secure the visor mountingor end-flange 3.I to the bracket 2, pass through suitable apertureslocated adjacent one side edge of the bracket. As shown in Fig. 5, therearward bolt 1 passes through an annular hole in the side of thebracket 2 so as to be held in a iiXed position thereon. The aperture forthe forward bolt 1.I, nearest the overhanging part of the visor, is inthe form of a slot 9 disposed at substantially right angles to the sideof the bracket 2, or transversely of the slot 5, so that a tiltingmovement of the visor may be had, the end flange or mounting flange 3,Ipivoting about the rearward bolt 1 and the forward bolt 1.I slidingvertically in the slot 9. l As shown in Fig. 3 and as before mentionedhorizontal shifting of the visor is obtained by means of the slots 5 andB in the visor end flange 3.I. Thus the visor I may be shiftedhorizontally to vary the extent of overhang over the windshield of theautomobile, and the forward edge of the visor may be also tiltedvertically so as to vary the angular relationship of the visor withrespect to the windshield to which it is applied.

On automobiles constructed with the present day sloping windshield andstreamlined body contour, the visor, in its horizontal shifting, may bemoved rearwardly, or retracted, over the top of the automobile withoutobstruction, and the extent of overhang may be readily adjusted to suitthe driver and particular driving conditions. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4,the supporting member or bracket 2 is a somewhat triangularly shapedframe, one side of which is arranged to fit within and along the legs ofthe angle member'3 and the opposite side of which is provided with apair of inwardly turned lugs or tab-like ears I and II by means of whichthe bracket 2 is secured to the automobile door frame.

Preferably the lugs or ears i and I! are bent from the body of thebracket 2 on a radius such that the lugs will follow the curvature ofthe gutter l2, which is usually provided on the outside of the car bodyalong the upper and forward'margin of the car door opening. The lugs Iand I I thus are shaped to fit the gutter snugly and their ends areturned outwardly so that they will lie flatly against the inside surfaceof the door frame of the car body, within the margin of the overlappingfiange E3 on the car door.

The lugs or ears ii] and II of the bracket 2 are secured to the car bodyby means of suitable screws cr bolts is, which are screwed into suitablytapped holes in the body door-frame. Thus the bracket 2 is securelymounted on the automobile body in such a way that no visible holes ormarring of the exterior body finish will occur, the bracket 2 projectingvertically upward from the car body adjacent the upper portion of thewindshield and the securing means being hidden by the iiange I3 of thecar door.

Usually the supporting member or bracket 2 will be mounted on the carbody in a portion of .the door frame Where the curvature of the doorline begins. Hence, it will be understood that the inwardly turned lugsor ears I0 and II of the bracket 2 will be formed so as to accommodatethe curvature of the door frame at the preferable point of mounting.

As shown in Fig. 1, the improved visor is preferably supported at itscenter by means of an adjustable supporting member which has one endsuitably secured to the center part of the visor and the other endclamped to the vertical dividing bar at the center of the windshield.Such a supporting member is shown in detail in Fig. 7 and comprises aclamp I5 adapted to fit around and be clamped to the center dividing barof the windshield, which clamp is also pivotally con" nected to athreaded rod I6 having threaded connection with an elongated nut I1. Asecond threaded rod I8, having a thread of the opposite hand of the rodI6, is screwed into the opposite end of the nut I1, which is threadedaccordingly, and is pivoted at its end to a, suitable bracket, notshown, mounted on the underside of the visor at its center portion. Thusthe center support for the visor is adjustable by merely turning theelongated nut I1, the nut together with the threaded rods I E and I8being in the nature of a turnbuckle.

A modified form of the mounting bracket and the visor supporting meansis shown in Figs. 9 and l0, wherein the end-flange IS of the visor isprovided with a single horizontal slot 2b in which a pivot-pin or pintle2|, carried by the side supporting member 22, is engaged. The flange I9is provided with serrations, or a series of notches 23, along the upperedge of the slot 20 in which the pivot pin or pintle 2I may be engaged,and a tension spring 24 secured between the visor endange I9 and thebracket 22, is provided to normally urge the end-flange downwardly sothat the pivot or pintle 2I will be held in engagement with one of theserrations or notches 23.

The forward end of the visor is supported by means of a turnbuckle-typemember 25 like that shown in Fig. '1 which member is pivotally connectedat its ends to the end-flange I9 of the visor and the forward part ofthe bracket or supporting member 22. The center portion of the visor mayalso be supported as shown in Fig. l if such is desired.

Thus the visor is horizontally adjustable on the pivot or pintle 2| bymerely lifting the rear end of the visor, to disengage the pivot 2| fromthe notches 23 in the visor end-flange, and then sliding or shifting thevisor to the desired position where, upon release, the pivot 2| willagain engage in the notches and be held under the tension of the spring24. Pivotal adjustment of the visor is obtained through the turnbuckle25, which may lbe extended or retracted by simply turning the elongatednut, and substantially any elevation of the forward end of the visor maybe had within the limits of the turnbuckle.

It will be observed that when the visor of Figs. 9 and l0 is adjustedhorizontally, the turnbuckle support 25 will pivot or swing about itsconnecf tions so that, in most cases, only the single horizontaladjustment is necessary to provide a desirable setting for the visor.Thus rapid and easy adjustment, without the necessity of tools or theloosening and tightening of securing nuts, is obtained. This feature isone of particular advantage.

As shown in Fig. 9, the visor end is turned downwardly, as in the caseof the form shown in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, and the end-flange I9 is7, visor-end and having a pair of aligned longitudinal slots therein, asupporting member at each end of said visor secured to the automobilebody, each supporting member having a pair of spaced aperturesregistering with the slots of the respective mounting flange, theforward one of said apertures being a slot extending transversely of themounting ange slots, and headed securing means extending through theslots of each mounting ilange and the apertures of the respectivesupporting member, said securing means having their heads disposed inthe space between the respective mounting flange and the turned end ofsaid visor.

4. In a device of the class described comprising a visor extendingacross the windshield of an automobile and supporting means at each endof said visor, each of said supporting means comprising a bracket membersecured to the automobile body, a iiange member secured adjacent the endof said visor, one of said members having a horizontally directed slotextending in the longitudinal direction of said automobile and the otherof said members having a laterally projecting means engaged in saidslot, the slotted member having a series of spaced notches along onemargin of the slot, means normally urging the said notched margin andsaid pivot means into engagement with each other, and means havingpivoted connection with said flange member and said bracket memberarranged to support the forward portion of said visor.

5, In a device of the class described comprising a visor extendingacross the outer side of the windshield of an automobile, a supportingmember at each end of said visor secured to the automobile body andhaving an inwardly extending pintle means, a ange at each end of saidvisor extending parallel with the respective end and having alongitudinal siot therein to receive the respective pintle means, theupper margin of each slot having spaced notches to engage the respectivepintle means, means normally urging said notched margin of each slotinto engagement with therespective pintle means, and pivotally connestedmeans to support the forward portion ci each flange from the respectivesupporting member.

6. In a device of the class described comprising a visor extendingacross the windshield of an automobile on the outer side thereof andsupporting means at each end of said visor, each of said supportingmeans comprising a flange member secured adjacent the end of said visorand extending therealong, said liange member having a, pair of alignedslots therein, a bracket member secured to the automobile body andprojecting upwardly therefrom with an upper edge lying along said angemember, a pivot projecting laterally from the rearward part of saidbracket member and extending through the rearward slot of said flangemember, said bracket member having a slot adjacent its forward enddisposed transversely of the forward slot of said flange member, and ase curing means extending through the slot of said bracket member andthe forward Slot i said flange member, said securing means beingslidable in said slots.

7. A device oi' the class described comprising a visor extending acrossthe windshield of an enclosed automobile and overlapping the topthereof, a supporting member at each end of said visor secured to theautomobile body, means connecting each supporting member with therespective end of said visor and arranged for sliding movement of saidvisor in a substantially horizontal direction longitudinally of saidautomobile, means arranged to hold said visor in any position to whichit may be slidably set, and visor operating means having connection withsaid visor for imparting horizontal shifting movement thereto, saidoperating means being adapted to release said holding means duringoperation of said visor.

8. A device of the class described comprising a visor extending acrossthe windshield of an enclosed automobile on the outside thereof, asupporting member at each end of said visor secured to the automobilebody adjacent the respective ends of said windshield, means connectingeach supporting member with the respective end of said visor andarranged for sliding movement of said visor in a substantiallyhorizontal direction longitudinally of said automobile, means to holdsaid visor automatically in any position to which it may be slidablyset, a rack on said visor extending in the direction of the slidingmovement thereof, and driving means disposed to engagesaid rack andoperable to impart shifting movement to said visor, said driving meansbeing adapted to release said holding means upon operation to slidablyshift said visor.

9. A device of the class described comprising a visor extending acrossthe windshield of an enclosed automobile, and disposed above saidwindshield in partially overlapped relation with and above the top ofsaid automobile, a supporting member at each end of said visor securedto the automobile body, pivot means connecting each supporting memberwith the respective end of said visor and adapted for sliding movementof said visor in a substantially horizontal direction longitudinally ofsaid automobile, and visor operating means including a drive shaftextending upwardly through and journaled in the automobile body abovethe center-line of the windshield, a pinion mounted on the outer end ofsaid drive shaft, a racl; extending transversely across and secured tothe underside of said visor and having driving connection with saidpinion, means on said visor adapted to hold said pinion in engagementwith said rack at all times, and means to rotate said driving shaft toimpart a shifting movement to said visor.

10. In a device of the class described comprising a visor disposed aboveand extending across the windshield of an enclosed automobile andsupporting means at each end of said visor, each of said supportingmeans comprising a bracket member secured to the automobile bodyadjacent the respective ends of said windshield, a flange member securedadjacent the end of said visor, one of said members having ahorizontally directed slot extending in the longitudinal direction ofsaid automobile and 'the other of said members having a laterallyprojecting pivot means engaged in and slidable along said slot, theslotted member having a series of spaced notches along one margin of theslot, and means normally urging the said notched margin and said pivotmeans into engagement with each other; visor shifting means including arack on said visor extending in the direction of sliding movementthereof, a pinion mounted to operatively engage said rack and drive thesame to shift said visor, and driving means for said pinion, said piniondriving means being adapted for operation to disengage each of saidpivot means from the notched margin of its respective slot uponoperation to shift said visor.

11. A retractable visor for the sloping windshield of an enclosedvehicle comprising a visor assemblage extending from side to side acrossthe vehicle Windshield and partially overhanging the vehicle roof, asupporting means at each end of said visor rigidly secured to thevehicle body, and dual connecting means between each end of said visorand the respective supporting means having individual supportingengagement with the visor at spaced locations along the end of thevisor, said connecting means being adapted for effecting shiftingmovement of said visor re1- ative to said supporting means in thelongitudinal direction of the v ehicle and over the forward end of thevehicle roof, and the forward one of said connecting means at each endof the visor being adapted to adjust said visor pivotally in thevertical direction on the axis of the visor connection with the rearwardconnecting means.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 827,483 Voorhees July 31, 19061,434,750 Pratt Nov. 7, 1922 1,442,121 Brinck Jan. 16, 1923 1,484,687Veeder Feb. 26, 1924 1,550,252 Hein Aug. 18, 1925 1,572,038 ReinheimerFeb. 9, 1926 1,746,334 Bollesen Feb. 11, 1930 2,125,232 Itzigson July26, 1938 2,447,246 Groboski et al Aug. 17, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 259,925 Great Britain Dec. 2, 1926 298,500 Great BritainOct. 2, 1928 301,995 Great Britain Dec. 13, 1928

